Marina Coastal Expressway
}} The Marina Coastal Expressway (Abbreviation: MCE; ; ; ) is the tenth of Singapore's network of expressways. Construction for the MCE began in 2008 and was completed at the end of 2013. It had its opening ceremony on 28 December 2013 by Senior Minister of State Mrs Josephine Teo, together with Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and was officially opened on 29 December 2013. Bus service 30, 30e, 522, 523, 538, 539, 545, 553, 566, 569, 584, 621, 677, 698, 736, 763, 767, 783 and Tanjong Rhu-Raffles Place/Suntec City Shuttle are using the expressway. Route The 5-kilometre (3.1-mile) MCE connects with the southern end of the KPE and its junction with the ECP to the eastern end of AYE. This links the eastern and western parts of Singapore to the New Downtown, currently being developed in the Marina Bay area. The MCE, with five lanes in each direction, handles the large number of commuters to be drawn to the offices, homes and recreational attractions there. It opens access to the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal in Marina South and the existing Marina South Pier. List of Exits History Construction The expressway comprises of a 3.5-kilometre (2.2-mile) underground tunnel, while the rest are at grade or depressed, with a view of the Singapore Strait. The underground tunnel includes a 420-metre (459-yard) stretch that travels under the seabed, 150 m (164 yds) away from the Marina Barrage. This had posed particular engineering challenges in the tunnel construction as large amounts of water was let out from the barrage from time to time. At its deepest point, the expressway lies about under the seabed. The 5-kilometre (3.1-mile) long MCE is Singapore's most expensive expressway. On 28 April 2009, the Land Transport Authority revealed that it has awarded about S$4.1 billion worth of contracts, much more than the initial estimate of S$2.5 billion. The construction of the MCE also required undersea dredging. More than 22 hectares (54 acres) of land was reclaimed to build the MCE. In contrast, the KPE, which is and has portions running under canals and rivers, costing only S$1.74 billion. After the MCE was opened, the segment of the ECP between Central Boulevard and Benjamin Sheares Bridge was downgraded to become Sheares Avenue. The segment of the ECP between the AYE and Central Boulevard was permanently demolished. The first few days of operations was plagued by heavy traffic congestion due to drivers' unfamiliarity with the expressway as well as connections with other roads and expressways. There was reportedly heavier than usual traffic, compared to using the old route via ECP, on 29 December 2013, the first day the MCE opened. The situation was exacerbated on the next day with the Monday morning peak hour traffic. However, the majority of the drivers are aware of the road changes. Since June 2014, the MCE became the anchor road from the west to the east. Bus routes #9 (Austin Lazaroo): Yishun – Changi Airport Cargo Complex #30: Bedok – Boon Lay #30X: Bedok – HarbourFront Centre #60: Tampines Olympic Park – Raffles Place #106: Punggol Northshore - Cineleisure Orchard #118B: 112 Katong - Jurong East #147: Waterway Banks - Clementi #159: Ashford - Resorts World Sentosa #211: Teban Gardens - Suntec City #318: Waterway Ridges - Tuas South #398: Fusionopolis - Bedok Mall (including Bedok South Block 163) #432: Tanjong Pagar Plaza - Expo #453: V on Shenton - Tampines Block 122 #538: Pasir Ris Drive 3 – Orchard Road #539: Pasir Ris Drive 4 – Esplanade #544: Bedok North Road – Robinson Road/Fullerton Road #545: Bedok North Avenue 4 – Robinson Road/Fullerton Road #552: Tampines Street 45 – Fullerton Square #553: Tampines Avenue 4 – Fullerton Square #566: Melville Park – ITE College South #569: Punggol Central – Suntec City #620: Bedok North - Resorts World Sentosa #621: Damai Secondary School - International Plaza #675: Junyuan Secondary School - Resorts World Sentosa #679: Bedok Reservoir Road - Shenton Way #698: Downtown East - Marina Bay Sands #699: Tampines Street 41 - Marina Bay Sands #710: Pasir Ris Block 113 - Marina Barrage #947: Hillgrove Secondary School - Lorong 1 Geylang #TTS1: Sengkang Block 206 - MOE Building Category:Expressways in Singapore Category:Tunnels in Singapore Category:Downtown Core (Singapore) Category:Marina East Category:Marina South Category:Straits View